Tag: New York Knicks

NBA Rumors: Sam Presti a candidate in potential Knicks front office overhaul?

Could Sam Presti be a potential candidate for the Knicks if James Dolan decide to make changes in New York’s front office?

Rumors about trades and deals have been swirling around the Oklahoma City Thunder for months, ever since General Manager Sam Presti negotiated deals to send away OKC’s top two stars in Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

It seems no one has been immune to gossip. As it turns out, neither is Presti.

There’s a lot to unpack, but first, as difficult as a rebuild in Oklahoma City could be, at least the Thunder aren’t the New York Knicks.

The saga of James Dolan and David Fizdale continued this week, thanks in part to the Knicks’ 120-102 blowout loss to Chicago. Although they recovered nicely with a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, Fizdale is still considered to be on the hot seat, especially following the team’s previous loss to the Bulls—one in which rookie Coby White outscored the entire Knicks team by himself in the fourth quarter of the contest.

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News believes that if Dolan moves to fire Fizdale during the regular season, it could also jeopardize the status of those in the front office. Should a scenario unfold where team president Steve Mills or GM Scott Perry be out of a job, one of the names reportedly being tossed around is Presti.

“There is already speculation around the league about potential front office replacements, with two names surfacing most often: Toronto president Masai Ujiri and Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti. Presti (meanwhile) sprouted from the Spurs tree and has served as the Thunder’s GM since 2007. He drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden but has been hamstrung by running a team in one the league’s smallest markets. After 12 years in OKC, it’s easy to envision him being tempted by New York.”

Right now, that’s certainly a lot of speculation. Fizdale, Mills, and Perry are all still employed and other names as potential candidates would likely come up should there be an opening in New York.

But it wouldn’t be completely unreasonable for the Knicks to make a run at Presti, should the opportunity present itself.

Report: Portland Trail Blazers to ink unsigned free agent Carmelo Anthony

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, former Thunder forward Carmelo Anthony will sign a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trailblazers have decided to roll the dice on former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Carmelo Anthony, according to ESPN senior writer Adrian Wojnarowski.

Anthony spent 2017-18 in Oklahoma City. The Thunder brought Anthony in from the Knicks, but the veteran, who has been accustomed to being the headliner throughout his NBA career, never fully meshed with Russell Westbrook and Paul George. During his stint in OKC, Anthony averaged a career-low 16.2 points.

He last played in the league in the 2018-19 NBA season for the Houston Rockets and has struggled to find a home for the final chapter of his now- 17-year career over the summer.

At the same time, cascading injuries and lofty postseason aspirations combined to push a struggling Portland Trail Blazers franchise to warm to the idea of bringing on Melo, who has been perceived in some circles as resistant to accepting a lesser role as he ages out of a starting one.

Now, standing at 4-8 midway through November, the team has decided that injuries to Jusuf Nurkic and particularly Zach Collins, have stretched the frontcourt rotation too thin, especially at the power forward position.

Anthony, per Wojnarowski, will be brought on to help out in that regard on a non-guaranteed deal and will join the team on their coming road trip. No word on other contract details, though presumably, it will be at the veteran’s minimum given the team’s cap situation.

LeBron James credits Lakers teammates for NBA assist lead

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James credited his teammates ability to convert opportunities for his NBA lead in assists.

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As a LeBron Wire reader, you may not be surprised to see that LeBron James is leading the NBA in assists. It was the leading preseason prediction for our site heading into the season and James has made good on the play in the preseason, using the arrival of Anthony Davis and improved outside shooting to become the current NBA assist leader.

James has tons of NBA accolades and statistical achievements on his resume. But leading the NBA in assists is something he’s never done before. A big reason is the addition of Davis, who gave James an efficient volume scorer — the likes of which he has never played before.

But James wanted to credit the entire team for his statistical accolades, telling ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

I’m just trying to play within the system of what we’re trying to do in the game plan, and get my shooters and get my bigs opportunities. I don’t get the assists if my teammates don’t make the shots. That’s what it all boils down to. So they deserve all the credit.

This is nothing new for James, who has taken great pride in creating opportunities for his teammates. Even though James Harden is generally associated most with creating 3-point shots these days, ESPN analyst Kirk Goldsberry found that nobody had assisted on more 3-pointers in the past decade than LeBron.

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Mavericks-Knicks odds: Dallas handily favored in New York

Previewing Thursday’s Dallas Mavericks at New York Knicks sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.

The New York Knicks (2-9) face the Dallas Mavericks (6-4) Thursday night just after 8 pm ET at Madison Square Garden. We analyze the Knicks-Mavericks sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Mavericks at Knicks: Key injuries

Knicks

  • Mitchell Robinson (concussion) questionable.
  • Reggie Bullock (back) out.
  • Elfrid Payton (hamstring) still out.

Mavericks at Knicks: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Mavericks 109, Knicks 104

Moneyline (ML)

The MAVERICKS (-295) are 6-4 on the moneyline, while the Knicks (+230) are just 2-9. Dallas is 4-1 straight up on the road. The Knicks are 1-3 at home on the season.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Mavericks to win outright returns a profit of just $3.39.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The Mavericks are 6.5-point favorites at -121.

Dallas has lost two of its last three games but is facing the 30th-place team in the NBA. New York is 5-6 ATS which is better than Dallas’ 4-6 mark. New York has failed to cover by 5.0 points per game. This is one to AVOID.

Over/Under (O/U)

The projected total is set at 216.5. It seems like a somewhat high number and Dallas and New York could struggle a little bit offensively in this game. The Knicks have dropped under 100 points per game which is even more telling.

New York beat Dallas in the first matchup 106-102 on November 8th.

Take the UNDER (+105).

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Knicks-Bulls odds: New York spotted 6-plus in Chicago

Previewing Tuesday’s New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.

The New York Knicks (2-8) meet the Chicago Bulls (3-7) Tuesday at the United Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET between the 15th- and 13th-place teams in the Eastern Conference. We analyze the Knicks-Bulls odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Knicks at Bulls: Key injuries

Knicks

  • C Mitchell Robinson (concussion) out
  • PG Elfrid Payton (hamstring) out
  • PG Dennis Smith Jr. (personal) questionable
  • PG Kadeem Allen (knee) questionable
  • SG Reggie Bullock (neck) out

Bulls

  • SF Otto Porter (foot) out

Knicks at Bulls: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 9:55 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Knicks 103, Bulls 98

Moneyline (ML)

The Bulls are just 1-3 at home while the Knicks are 1-5 on the road. New York’s minus-10.1 average point differential is the worst in the NBA as it’s outscored 109.3-99.2 on average. The Bulls are minus-4.6 (110.0-105.4). Both teams come into Tuesday having lost their last game. The Knicks took a 108-87 loss at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday. The Bulls lost 117-94 at home to the Houston Rockets.

In a coin flip game between two bad teams such as this, it’s never a bad idea to chase the value. Back the KNICKS at +190 and make a profit of $19 on a $10 bet should New York come away with the outright road win.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

There’s still value on the KNICKS on the spread of +6.5 with -121 odds. The same $10 wager fetches an $8.26 return if they stay within six points in a loss or win outright. The Bulls’ three wins all came by margins of at least six points, but they’re just 4-6 overall against the spread and 2-2 at home. The Knicks are 5-5 ATS and 4-2 on the road.

Over/Under (O/U)

Take the UNDER 211.5 (+105). The Bulls and Knicks rank 28th and 29th, respectively, in true shooting percentage at rates of 52.2 and 51.0%. The Knicks also play to the league’s fifth-slowest pace at 99.85 possession per game.

New York is 2-8 against the Over/Under and falls an average of 7.1 points shy of the projection. Chicago is 4-6 against the projected totals while falling five points below the projection.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Esten’s NBA betting record: 30-23

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Not being a New York Knicks fan is the absolute best, isn’t it?

It has to stink so much to be a Knicks fan.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

I have the same morning routine every morning – I brush my teeth, I tell myself that today is the day I start eating better, and then I thank the powers that be that I’m not a New York Knicks fan.

Because nobody deserves to be one of those.

The Knicks are easily one of the most embarrassing franchises in all of sports. And I’m not just talking about the lack of results they have on the floor… but also how they’re ran, starting and ending with owner James Dolan.

Did you see what happened the other night at Madison Square Garden? Security confronted a fan for chanting “Fire Dolan!” because apparently you’re not allowed to yell out good ideas while at a Knicks game. The fan told TMZ that he chose to leave the stadium and spend his money elsewhere.

When it comes to terrible owners in sports, Dolan is right there shaking hands with Daniel Snyder while looking around and saying “where is everybody else?” The man seems more interested in performing in his folk band – which is just dull poison on your ears – than building a winner in New York.

Just this past summer the Knicks thought they’d get big free agents to join the team because of the building in which they play their home games. Like guys were gonna do whatever it took to play at the “Mecca of Basketball,” which once you’re inside MSG these days it feels like every other vanilla stadium thanks to some renovations that took all the life out of the place.

Last year Dolan banned a fan for life from MSG because he yelled that Dolan should sell the team.

A year before that he kicked out Knicks legend Charles Oakley.

And this year the Knicks are already holding wild press conferences in which they’re basically apologizing for stinking so much at basketball, as they’ve started the year 2-8 and are in last place in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks have been awful at drafting players, signing free agents, and making the playoffs – they’ve only won one playoff series since 2000-01 season.

Now they’re continuing to pay rent at an address listed as “Rock Bottom,” a place they’ve called home for many years.

They’ll likely stay there, too, until Dolan finally does the right thing and sells the team.

Until then, a lot of us can all smile each morning and bask in the glory that comes with knowing you don’t cheer for such a pathetic franchise.

Feels great, doesn’t it?

Monday’s big winner: Jeopardy contestant Dhruv Gaur and Alex Trebek.

Something pretty special happened on Monday night’s episode of Jeopardy! during Final Jeopardy, as contestant Dhruv Gaur opted to write as his answer, “We love you, Alex.” It caught Trebek, who’s battling cancer, by surprise as he choked up and thanked Gaur. It was a great moment, and one you should watch.

Quick hits: The Rock responds… NFL QB hip warmups are a thing… Steph Curry on MJ… And more!

– The Rock responded to Nate Diaz calling him out after UFC 244.

– Jimmy Garoppolo showed off his hip-thrusting warmup routine before MNF. This is apparently becoming a thing.

– Steph Curry seems to think Michael Jordan is a hater of his.

– Ed Orgeron had an on-brand Saturday night after beating Alabama.

– Check out our latest tanking rankings to see which NFL teams are making the best/worst moves to get the No. 1 pick next year.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

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David Fizdale isn’t the one who should take the fall for the Knicks’ woes

What are the Knicks thinking here?

The New York Knicks spent the last year trading Kristaps Porzingis to create cap space, whiffing on all the big-name free agents they hoped to attract with that room and then putting together a hodgepodge collage of one- and two-year contracts to surround the few valuable pieces they have.

They’re 2-8, and after a surprise press conference with president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry after Sunday’s awful loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, there’s writing on the wall.

But it’s not about their front office. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews, Mills is starting “to lay the internal groundwork for the eventual dismissal of coach David Fizdale.”

I would say that’s a shock, considering Fizdale is in his second year with the franchise. But a backwards move like this is nothing shocking when it comes to the Knicks.

It’s not Fizdale’s fault that the previous regime couldn’t see eye to eye with Porzingis, who has resumed looking every bit like the star he was in his limited Big Apple time. It’s not his fault that the marquis names took their talents elsewhere, including over the Brooklyn Bridge. And it’s certainly not his fault that he was saddled with a roster that any coach would struggle with, one that includes a plethora of power forwards, disappointments and iffy fits.

Yet he might be the one to take the fall? Really?

Who out there believed this was the roster that would compete in the East? No one should have. It’s supposed to be a year of development for RJ Barrett — who actually looks like he’s living up to the billing of being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft — Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and Frank Ntilikina. The Knicks were going to be bad no matter what, although they could have taken that route by taking on bad contracts in exchange for first-round picks. It would have produced the same result with long-term dividends.

But here we are. And the kicker is part of that ESPN report:

“Rival coaches and executives see a mismatched Knicks roster slow of foot, without legitimate NBA guard play, but Mills is selling (owner James) Dolan on a poorly coached team that is underachieving at 2-8 to start the season, league sources said.”

As it seems to always be with the Knicks, it goes up the ladder. If it’s Dolan who’s demanding the franchise compete NOW and Mills has to save his job by throwing Fizdale under the bus, that’s what’s ultimately crushing any chance at putting together a winner in New York. This will keep happening — the Knicks will create cap space, no one notable will be sold on joining all this dysfunction, coaches will be axed, front offices will be remade, lather, rinse, repeat. There’s no process to trust.

This is not on Fizdale. It barely has anything to do with him — he’s just a pawn for an owner who has repeatedly failed to figure any of this out.

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Security confronted a fan who chanted ‘Fire Dolan’ at the Knicks-Cavs game

The embarrassment continues.

It’s another season, and not much has changed with the New York Knicks. They missed out on Zion Williamson, struck out in free agency and still have the league’s most overbearing, hypersensitive owner in Jim Dolan.

That was on full display during Sunday’s 108-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With the Knicks trailing by 28 points in the third quarter, a “Fire Dolan” chant broke out at Madison Square Garden as frustrated Knicks fans urged Dolan to sell the team. It’s unclear how the Madison Square Garden staff would be able to pinpoint the origin of a “Fire Dolan” chant, but videos hit Twitter that showed a fan getting escorted out by security.

The tweet claimed that the arena security was ejecting the fan who started the chant, and when another fan mockingly chanted, the six (!!!) security guards turned to threaten another ejection.

Though the video showed security escorting the fan out of the section, a Knicks spokesperson told For The Win that “no one was ejected last night from MSG for any reason.” A person claiming to be the fan in the video tweeted that he was removed from his seat for the chant.

Oddly enough, this was nothing new for Dolan who has a history of ejecting fans for merely voicing their frustrations at MSG. Last year, Dolan banned a fan for life who told him to “sell the team.”

The Knicks have lost eight of their first 10 games this season, and as long as Dolan is at the helm, there’s no reason to expect an end to these embarrassing scenes at Madison Square Garden.

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